Abstract:

The retailing practice is going through a radical revolution due to the introduction of new formats for which modern retailers are gaining tremendous importance in the recent times. Moreover, with the changing behavioral aspects of consumers, apparel retailers need to concern regarding the lifestyle, preference and demands of consumers which is playing a vital role in the ever changing perceptions of consumers.
Everything that customers see, hear and experience is linked together and forms their overall perception of a store. Therefore this study aimed to shed insight on how store image dimensions influence on loyalty towards the retail apparel stores. Eight attributes of store image are proposed and a 34-items were adopted to measure the store image and customer loyalty towards retail outlets. Structured questionnaire was administrated among 200 customers in Colombo district and they represented young adult consumers who visit apparel retail stores to satisfy their basic apparel needs. Results revealed that out of nine store image dimensions, eight dimensions such as store image, atmosphere, convenience, facilities, institutional factors, merchandising, sales personnel and service have an impact on customer store loyalty except the promotional factors. Furthermore, findings suggested that merchandising is the most important element which contribute to store image in building store loyalty and perceived brand trust become moderator on those relationship in retail apparel stores.